Both Wachusett superintendent finalists withdraw

Tuesday

Apr 2, 2013 at 8:00 AMApr 2, 2013 at 11:03 PM

By Sandy Meindersma CORRESPONDENT

Both superintendent finalists for the Wachusett Regional School District have withdrawn their names for the post.

“We have received letters or emails from both candidates indicating that they feel it was better to withdraw their names from consideration,” Steve Hammond, chairman of the district's superintendent search committee, said today.

The two finalists, Paul Schlichtman, coordinator for research, testing and assessment for Lowell public schools, and Casey Handfield, principal at Auburn High School, were named last week, sparking a firestorm of outrage from community members who wanted Darryll McCall, the district's director of operations, named as a finalist as well.

The full School Committee has a special meeting at 7 tonight with a motion from member Stacey Jackson as the first order of business. The motion is to add Mr. McCall to the list of finalists.

The advertised salary for the superintendent's job is $150,000 to $180,000.

School Committee Chairman Duncan Leith declined to comment on the withdrawal of the finalists, saying it would be discussed at tonight's meeting.

Mr. Schlichtman said he withdrew his name to preserve the integrity of the search process. Mr. Schlichtman said he had heard that Mr. Handfield had withdrawn his name, and so he sent an email to the search committee withdrawing his name from consideration.

“The email that I sent said, 'It is my understanding that the other candidate has withdrawn his name, and in that context, I feel compelled to withdraw my name,” Mr. Schlichtman said. “You can't have a search process with only one candidate.”

Mr. Schlichtman said he was still interested in working for the Wachusett school district, and that if there were another superintendent search process, he would apply.

“I enjoyed meeting the committee, and I would be honored to work with them,” he said.

Calls to Mr. Handfield were not returned.

Also on tonight's agenda is an item to address an alleged open meeting law violation by a committee member. The meeting will take place in the high school media center.

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